Man jailed in judge threat

A Richland Township man who once scrubbed more than 100 toilets at the Saginaw County Jail is back behind bars, accused of making a death threat against the judge who ordered the punishment.

Jonathan F. Naessens, 28, of 14830 Roe is facing charges of unlawful posting of messages with aggravating circumstances involving Circuit Judge Fred L. Borchard and possessing a firearm as a felon. A conviction could lead to a sentence of more than five years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

Today, District Judge A.T. Frank was to arraign Naessens, who was in jail on a $100,000 bond, on the charges.

The FBI was involved in the case, Borchard said.

"It was pretty upsetting to me and my family," Borchard said. "I'm disappointed that people feel compelled they have to do that stuff. It makes me mad."

In February 2004, Borchard ordered Naessens to scrub 100 toilets for defecating in a Richland Township home where he stole a gun Sept. 1, 2003. Naessens, who pleaded guilty, also paid $389 in restitution for cleaning the property. Authorities found feces in the basement near where someone broke out a window.

Borchard said Naessens made a death threat against him in late 2004, and deputies posted the man's photo at the County Governmental Center.

In January 2005, Borchard sentenced Naessens to nine months in jail for violating probation on the weapons charge by failing to complete the Tri-County Adjudication Program, a halfway house at 2300 Veterans Parkway.

Naessens contacted a Boise, Idaho, man to post a message that he was going to kill Borchard, authorities said. The man refused to post the threat and called the FBI, prosecutors said.

Borchard said FBI agents contacted him and told him of the threats.

Agents informed Saginaw County sheriff's deputies, who executed a search warrant at Naessen's home and found guns, officials said.

Naessens fled the house, and deputies found him hiding in a chute that contained firewood and arrested him.